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Robert Altman's only Western takes a long time to get heated up, but in its final hour it truly burns. As John McCabe, Warren Beatty is terrific as a hustler who's built a reputation for himself as a gunslinging tough guy, though secretly he's really a coward who's never killed anyone. After opening a smash-hit brothel in a wintry village, a big cartel swoops in to buy him out. He refuses, and a price is quickly put upon his head.
While Beatty is fabulous, Julie Christie's Mrs. Miller (the madam who runs his whorehouse) doesn't make much of an impression -- and astonishingly, she was nominated for an Oscar for this role. (In fact, the original novel is just called McCabe, with no mention of Miller at all.) The folky/twangy score is also a bit rough on the ears, but all is forgiven by the character study that plays out in the film's final moments. Lovely.
